BONUS episode! Cultivating Interpersonal Effectiveness

Surprise! You (and we) thought we had finished up season 2, but then we had an opportunity to talk with some folks about an issue we think and care a lot about and we couldn’t pass it up. Welcome to our bonus episode on cultivating interpersonal effectiveness in the classroom and beyond.

This season we talked and learned a lot about how to be better, more empathetic listeners, how to apply those skills as we help organizations build learning cultures, and how our academic colleagues are training the next crop of future evaluators in these skills. Interpersonal skills have been top of mind. Thus, we jumped at the chance to talk with a panel of actual experts on how to cultivate these skills in ourselves and among our colleagues. Our panel guests include:

• Libby Smith (she/they) is an organizational healing facilitator. As an experienced and holistic evaluator and educator, she excels at the human component of research and evaluation. Never one to shy away from crucial conversations, Libby deftly balances accountability and compassion. Her work focuses on building equity and accessibility through personal growth and embodiment practices. Libby uses these skills to provide intersectional and liberation-forward guidance to organizations and clients seeking transformative change. She is an AEA Board member, works at the University of Wisconsin-Stout, and is auntie to 10-year-old twin girls. Follow Libby on Twitter: @work_with_libby
• Tiffany Smith (she/her) is an evaluator, educator, and facilitator. She brings experience as a tenure-track faculty member teaching evaluation and research courses, as well as experience with conducting research and evaluation projects. Tiffany has conducted evaluation work in K-12 education settings, non-profit organizations, higher education environments, and community programs. She stresses the importance of communication, reflective practice, and collaboration in her evaluation work and in training others in evaluation and research methods. Follow Tiffany on Twitter: @Tiffany7001
• Deven Wisner (he/him) is a capacity builder for data-driven decision making across a variety of disciplines, including community and social welfare, human capital, finance, marketing, and compliance. He leverages his training in evaluation and industrial-organizational psychology and years of senior level management experience to enable clients to leverage data in their organizations decision-making process. Complementary to his technical skills in program design, statistics, and data visualization and reporting, Deven relies heavily on participatory methods and interpersonal effectiveness training to inspire client ownership and buy-in. He is the Principal Consultant for Viable Insights, an instructor at the University of Arizona and president of the Arizona Evaluation Network. At the root of all his work is a passion for empowering individuals to utilize evidence-based decision making as an effective method for achieving their goals and objectives. Follow Deven on Twitter: @devenwisner

The panel offered a wealth of expertise and gave us references to a slew of great resources. Links below:

• As we mention above, Deven is the president of the Arizona Evaluation Network, which is hosting their annual conference on April 2 – 3, 2020 in Tucson, Arizona. The theme of the conference is Communication, Facilitation, and Interpersonal Effectiveness. There are some great pre-conference workshops, including a session by Libby on interpersonal effectiveness (and also a session by Glass Frog Podcast alumnus Sheila Robinson on presentation design). Deven, Libby, and Tiffany will also be presenting on the DATA Model for Reflective Practice. If you find yourself wanting to know more about the topics we discussed in this episode AND/OR you appreciate dry heat and flowering cacti, then please book a flight and join the AZEnet gang to continue your journey!
• The panelists cited some books and resources that are essential for reflecting on and improving interpersonal skills.
  • People Skills: How to Assert Yourself, Listen to Others, and Resolve Conflict by Robert Bolton
  • People Styles at Work and Beyond by Robert Bolton and Dorothy Grover Bolton
  • Collaborative Learning: People Laboring Together to Construct Learning, John Peters and Joseph Armstrong
  • Interactive Evaluation Practice by Jean King and Laurie Stevahn
  • The Circle Way: A Leader in Every Chair by Christina Baldwin
  • The DATA Model for Reflective Practice by Tiffany Smith, Patrick Barlow, John Peters, and Gary Skolits
  • Playful Mindfulness by Ted DesMaisons
• Libby, Tiffany, and Deven are planning to host an online workshop on collaborative reflective practice. More details to be announced in the future, but feel free to reach out to them if you’re interested!

Unwitting sponsor! There was a feeling of exuberance in the office this week when we learned that we’d pulled in this marquee sponsor. It’s not every day that an icon in the packaged cookie industry agrees* to sponsor your scrappy and insanely niche show, but somehow we pulled it off. Friends, the sponsor for this bonus episode is … the Girl Scout cookie! You heard that right. Whether you’re a fan of the Thin Mint, the Do-si-Dos, or Rebecca’s favorite, the Tagalong, everyone can agree that the Girl Scout cookie is a time-honored way to both support kids’ empowerment and fatten up during the winter months. So, we beseech you, find a local Girl Scout troop this season and purchase a box or two…or eight…of them delicious cookies!

*This is technically aspirational. Nobody from the Girl Scouts agreed to sponsor the show.